Visita Iglesia 2016 (Bulacan Edition)

We woke up early on Maundy Thursday to start our Visita Iglesia. As I have mentioned on my previous post, I will guide you to our Bulacan route and it started off at Malolos, Bulacan.

But before that, we reached NLEX via Valenzuela exit by eight in the morning so we were able to start our church tour by nine. Visita Iglesia is a Holy Week practice where devotees visit and pray in at least 7 separate churches. It is usually done on Maundy Thursday, or if the churches are far apart, it can reach up to Easter Sunday. 

For our family's tradition, we do it every Maundy Thursday, riding in a rented van with packed lunches consisting of chicken adobo, red salted eggs, boiled greens, rice, C2 apple drinks, and jugs of cool water. This is our usual menu except for last year where we cooked tempura veggies instead of boiled greens.


We used the apps for Waze and Google Maps to guide our tour but basically, we tweaked this route that we found on The Pinoy Warrior blog site. Our church tour began at Malolos, then Paombong, Hagonoy, and finally, at Calumpit.

BARASOAIN CHURCH
Address: Paseo Del Congreso Barasoain Church Compd, Malolos, 3000 Bulacan, Philippines

According to Wikipedia, this church earned the title "Cradle of Democracy in the East"; "the most important religious building in the Philippines"; and the "site of the First Philippine Republic," the church is proverbial for its historical importance among Filipinos. It was founded by Augustinian Missionaries in 1859, the church is also renowned for its architectural design and internal adornments. The original church was burned during the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution, but was later renovated.

BASILICA MENOR DE LA NUESTRA SENORA DE LA IMMACULADA CONCEPCION

Address: Malolos, Bulacan, Philippines

Also known as Malolos Cathedral, it is a historical church in the Philippines located in City of Malolos, the capital of the province of Bulacan, as noted by Wikipedia. The Cathedral is also the ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of the Diocese of Malolos, a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Manila.

STA. ISABEL DE UNGRIA PARISH CHURCH
Address: Sta. Isabel, Malolos City 

According to Wikipedia, this church is still part of the Malolos Historic Town Center and still covered by the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.

SANTIAGO DE APOSTOL PARISH CHURCH
Address:  Paombong, Bulacan

Per Wikipedia, it is also known as St. James the Apostle Parish Church. It is the town church of Paombong originally built as visita of Malolos in 1580, established as parish in 1639 made of light materials. It suffered a massive fire causing it to lost its ancient architecture. It was reconstructed in 1970s and reconstructed again in 2003.
 

 INA NG LAGING SAKLOLO PARISH CHURCH
Address: Hagonoy, Bulacan, Philippines

This church was founded on May 30, 1998, according to their Facebook page here. 

NATIONAL SHRINE AND PARISH OF ST. ANNE
Address: Hagonoy, Bulacan 

In it's Wikipedia page, this church is also commonly known as the Santa Ana Shrine or Hagonoy Church. It is an 18th-century, Baroque church located at Brgy. Santo Niño, Hagonoy, Bulacan, Philippines. The parish church, under the aegis of Saint Anne, is under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Malolos. In was declared a National Shrine in 1991.^[1][2] In 1981, a marker bearing a brief history of the church was installed on the church by the National Historical Institute, precursor of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH
Address: Calumpit, Bulacan, Philippines

Per Wikipedia, the San Juan Bautista Parish Church, locally referred to as the Calumpit Church, is a 17th-century, Roman Catholic, Baroque church located at Barangay Poblacion, Calumpit, Bulacan, Philippines. The parish church, under the patronage of Saint John the Baptist, belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Malolos under the Vicariate of Saint James the Apostle.

It was a tiring yet fulfilling day. Amazingly enough, big boy Z was super happy and did not complain one bit. I guess he also enjoyed the day although he did say, "Wow! We've been to seven churches in one day. I know, I've been counting." LOL!

So, how was your Holy Week? I'll post our Easter Egg Hunt activity tomorrow as I need to finish my work. Don't forget to seize the day!